Plague of Shadows
by LilGstryker
Summary: Star Fox continues to keep peace as the Lylat recovers from the damage that the Aparoids have done. But when Fox goes on a retrieval mission for the Cornerian Military, he finds something that threatens the entire existence of everyone he knows and loves.
1. Prologue

This is the second story that I have started to write. I am also working on another story called _Desperate Measures,_ which was my initial fan fic_. _This is the side project that I'll be working on when complications arise in _Desperate Measures, _such as writer's block and all of that stuff, or whenever I have the time. An idea formed in my mind as I was working on my other story, so I wanted to see how well it would go. This story will be a sort of 'work as I go' fic, meaning that I'll be making the plot as I go on. I have an overall idea as to where the plot will lead, but all the details will be written along the way. I'm not to sure about what title I should give this new fic, so for now the experimental name will be_** Plague of Shadows**_, for certain unnamed reasons. It might or might not change, so keep a look out. Enjoy.

**Star Fox**

**Plague of Shadows**

Prologue

---------------------------------

A barrage of laser fire barely missed Fox as he swiftly rolled out of the way. The vulpine was caught in a tight metallic hallway that was located inside of a ship that he had not to long ago infiltrated alone. The lights of the hallway were flickering in and out because of the great deal of damage that had been dealt to the area, and the white walls were scorched black from intense laser fire. After dodging several more laser bolts Fox ran and hid behind a few conveniently-placed metal storage crates. His enemies continued to fire their weapons while slowly advancing towards Fox's position. Seeing that his blaster was out of energy Fox let the empty magazine fall to the floor and inserted a fully charged battery clip. After hearing the satisfying _click _of the clip locking in place he peeked above the crates to see how many enemies were left. _One, two… Three. Alright, that seems easy enough. Better get the hell out of here before more of them come. _After Fox's adversaries stopped firing to reload their weapons, he speedily popped up from his hiding spot and blasted two of the three enemy soldiers left with well placed shots to their heads. The last one ducked just in time to avoid the crimson laser that Fox had fired at him. The solider reloaded his clip while running for the other side of the corridor for cover behind some sort of computer workstation. After a brief moment of catching his breath, the solider started to fire his assault rifle at the crates once again, moving in closer just as he had done before. However Fox, anticipating this, had moved away from those crates while the solider was reloading behind the workstation. He snuck to another set of stacked storage crates that were placed a few meters ahead and crouched low behind them, letting the shadows of the crates overcome his body. The solider, still firing, unknowingly walked past Fox's new position. The vulpine stealthily walked up behind the solider and held the blaster up to his head.

"Don't move."

The solider completely froze as he felt the cold, metal barrel of Fox's blaster placed against his head. "Put your weapon on the ground and kick it away. Now!" The solider obeyed and did what Fox had instructed him to do, and the rifle traveled several feet before sliding to a stop. He turned around to finally look at the vulpine. "What are you going to do, shoot me? Go ahead, do it!" the soldier encouraged, prepared for the worst. "Actually, I need you to do something for me," said Fox, more like a demand then a question. "I need you to open that door over there," Fox pointed at the door farthest away down the corridor. The soldier was surprised to hear this request. He grunted, but then laughed at Fox mockingly. "Hah! I'll never do that. I don't care if you are _the_ Fox McCloud. What have you done for us, anyways?" The vulpine nodded in disappointment. _I thought these guys were professional, but I guess not all of them are bright_. "Guess we'll have to do this the hard way..." The vulpine suddenly aimed down with his blaster and shot out the soldier's leg. He screamed in agony as he fell to the ground, holding his now bloody leg.

"Let's try this again. I need you to unlock that door, or I will 'unfortunately'," he said with a little emphasis, "have to blow every fucking limb off your body. Got it? Do it now," the fox sternly ordered. Of course, Fox would never actually do something like that, but this soldier seemed like he needed some motivation. Terrified, the soldier concededly nodded. He got up slowly and limped, or sort of crawled, to the door with Fox following closely behind, still aiming his weapon at him. He stumbled a few times before finally reaching the door. When he got to the access door he typed in a code on the keypad. The console emitted a confirmation tone, and the door opened, reluctantly admitted entrance for Fox.

"Wasn't that easy?" The soldier mumbled something unintelligible. "You have a good day, now," Fox smiled before delivering a powerful roundhouse kick to the temple area of the soldier's head, which caused him to spin in the air before landing on the floor with a _thud,_ out cold. Fox jogged into the large docking bay, surprised to see that know one was waiting to ambush or flank him. He quickly hopped into his Arwing and started it up. As he was doing so the alarm suddenly went off, blaring piercingly. To Fox's utter dismay, the docking bay access doors began to seal. "Uh, not what I planned," he whispered, frowning. After the doors were completely shut, the entrance to the docking bay opened revealing several more soldiers that ran in and surrounded Fox. They pointed their weapons at the Arwing.

"Get out of the fighter now!" one of the soldiers shouted. Fox contemplated for a moment.

_Hmm… Option one, give up and get out and possibly interrogated, tortured, or killed. Or, Option two; blow the damn hangar door away with a nova bomb. _He grinned as he obviously picked option two. He pressed a red trigger on his steering control and a small but destructive red bomb launched out of the Arwing. As soon as the soldiers realized what was happening it was too late. The door was ripped apart by the bomb, shrapnel pieces flying everywhere. In turn the vacuum of space was immediately exposed to the oxygen-rich hangar. Air was sucked out of the docking bay as the room instantly depressurized, killing the soldiers immediately as their bodies were sucked away into nothingness. Fox blasted out of the hangar and dodged a few stray shots from the enemy station's defensive turrets before he was well out of range. After Fox was sure that know one was following him, he let out a relieved sigh. He decreased velocity and took off the backpack he was wearing and placed it on his lap. He unzipped the bag and took out a small, silver case. Fox opened it, revealing a tiny, black memory disk. He produced a sort of half-smirk on his face, and then set the case back into the backpack and set it aside. Fox indolently contacted the_ Great Fox_ to let them know of his success. After a few moments an old, grey hare appeared on-screen.

"Fox to _Great Fox,_ do you copy?"

"Loud and clear. How'd the mission go?" Peppy asked.

"Went off with only a few problems. Had to blow up the hangar bay doors with my Arwing to get out, but that was about it."

"Reckless as always, Fox…" the hare chuckled. "Anyways, we need to get that disk to General Pepper ASAP. It contains covert information that the Cornerian Military needs to keep undisclosed."

"Huh. I wonder how these guys stole it away," Fox thought aloud. "If this disk is so important then the military should've been taking better care of it."

Peppy crossed his arms. "Those weren't amateurs you were dealing with, Fox. Remember, the Ravens are a highly notorious band of pirates that are _very_ good at what they are do," he reminded.

"Yeah, I know… What's on this little disk, anyways?" Fox asked curiously.

"Supposedly there are blueprints and designs for extremely powerful prototype weapons that are to be used for special ops or battleship attachments, something like that," the hare guessed. _Of course. The Ravens wouldn't pass up the opportunity to steal really powerful weapons, especially ones that were supposed to be kept secret, _thought Fox. "Anyways, hurry up and get back here so we can get back to Corneria."

"Will do. Fox out-" Fox suddenly lurched forward as his Arwing violently shook from a heavy impact. "What the hell?!" He yelled in confusion.

"Fox! What's wrong?" Peppy worryingly demanded.

"Something hit me, but I don't see anything on radar-"his ship rumbled fiercely once more as something hit him again. The cockpit was filled with blood-red lights as the alarm klaxon went off. He searched the area that was in front and to the sides of him, but saw nothing within visual range. Sparks flew from the console as Fox tried to bring everything back together; then, the flight controls abruptly malfunctioned.

"Shit! The navigation system is locked up, I've lost control!" The alarm blared as loudly as ever as Fox started to spin out of control. He glanced at Peppy, who was going in and out sporadically. "I'm going*static*-own! I repe*static*, I'm goi-" That was all Peppy heard before Fox was cut off as he was hit for the final time. The Arwing's engine instantaneously exploded into flames, which caused Fox to lurch forwards and slam his head right into the console unconscious. The Arwing tumbled and spun around as it turned into a violent, flaming ball of twisted metal and started a descent into a small, nearby planet. Static appeared on Peppy's side of the comm line as he lost the connection between he and Fox.

"Fox? _Fox!" _The hare called out anxiously, trying to contact the vulpine over and over again. But nothing happened as static continued to plague the screen that sat in front of him.

-----------------------

So, good or bad? Share your opinions and critiques. Let me know in your reviews.

LGstryker


	2. Chapter 1

**Star Fox**

**Plague of Shadows**

Chapter 1

---------------------------------

A lone, red and silver fighter floated silently in the depth of space. The ship looked as if it had been modified greatly, as several attachments appeared to be affixed upon it. Just a few minutes before, its pilot had deactivated the cloak that had made it appear completely undetectable. The pilot inside kept her expression vacant of any sort of emotion as she watched an Arwing explode into flames. Although she hadn't shown it the white-furred feline was content with her work. She turned her ship around and sped away, not even caring about the Arwing pilot's fate, as she was much too confident of her assassination abilities to think that she had failed her assignment. The feline's comm unit suddenly went off in her ship, the _Crimson Rose_. She pressed a flashing button and a dark figure appeared on-screen. The figure's face was entirely undetectable, concealed by the dark shadows of the room that he receded in.

"I'm assuming that you have succeeded, Tanya?" the figure asked with an elegantly deep voice.

"Of course. What did you expect?" she answered wryly.

"… And McCloud and the memory disk have been taken care of?"

"Yeah," Tanya replied flatly.

"Excellent. Proceed to Corneria. I will see you there."

-----------------------------------------

Peppy was greatly distressed. What had just happened? Just a few minutes ago he and Fox were having a casual conversation, then suddenly Fox was shot down, descending into a planet at an incredibly dangerous velocity. Not to mention that his Arwing was practically a flaming piece of metal. He frantically paced to the scan system workstation and started tapping at keys to try get find any information related to the incident. However, nothing had been detected; the scope, both short and long-distance, came up disappointingly empty.

"Rob," Peppy called to the android, "Can you monitor Fox? What's his situation?" The robot calculated for a moment before getting the results. Unfortunately they were results that disappointed Peppy. "Communications with Arwing-1 is currently impossible," he stated in a monotonically dull voice. "The weather on Fortuna is causing electrical interference."

"Damn…" he whispered, feeling troubled and worried. "ROB, load Fox's HUD video feed, from the moment of the first impact to the moment it cuts off."

"Affirmative." A video immediately loaded onto the screen in front of Peppy. He played the feed, and watched and looked through the entire thing. And still could not find any sort of evidence as to where to attacks came from.

The hare jumped for the intercom, intent on calling the rest of the Star Fox crew up to the bridge. "Guys, get up here! We have a huge problem!" he anxiously announced. In a matter of minutes Falco Lombardi, Slippy Toad, and Krystal all exited from the lift elevator that lead them to the bridge of the _Great Fox_.

"Peppy, what's wrong?" Krystal asked pensively, concern gleaming in her beautiful, sapphire eyes. She could sense the difficult stress that Peppy was under.

"It's Fox… He's been shot down," Peppy declared regretfully.

"What?" they all shouted simultaneously, all shocked to find out that their captain had been taken down.

"How? I-is he still a-alive?" Slippy stuttered, feeling enormously worried for his friend. Peppy just sighed.

"Here, take a look at the video feed from the recorder of Fox's HUD headset. You'll see…" The hare punched in a code at the terminal he was in, and the viewport at the front of the bridge suddenly activated. Words appeared on-screen to inform its viewers.

ACTIVATING… BEGIN VIDEO FEED.

The crew could see everything that Fox was seeing. Currently the vulpine was chatting with Peppy via the comm screen, shortly after the mission.

Fox: "Yeah, I know… What's on this little disk, anyways?"

Peppy: "Supposedly there are blueprints and designs for extremely powerful prototype weapons that are to be used for special ops or battleship attachments, something like that. Anyways, hurry up and get back here so we can get back to Corneria."

Fox: "Will do. Fox out-" everyone saw the camera shake violently as the first impact came. The HUD headset flashed warning messages that were viewable by the bridge spectators.

IMPACT CONFIRMED: ATTACKER'S POSITION UNKNOWN. SCANNING…

Fox: "What the hell?!" The camera was shifting side to side as Fox instinctively scanned his flanks. Then he shifted his view to the radar. Nothing.

UNABLE TO CONFIRM ORIGINAL LOCATION OF ATTACK. HEAVY CAUTION IS ADVISED.

Peppy: "Fox! What's wrong?"

Fox: "Something hit me, but I don't see anything on radar-"

The camera shook intensely once more as the second shot hit Fox. Everybody saw that it was worse than the first impact; the ship was filled with red lights and sparks started to fly everywhere. And still nothing had been found.

CAUTION: ARMOR INTEGRITY IN CRITICAL CONDITION. ADVISED TO ESCAPE CURRENT SITUATION. MULTIPLE SYSTEM FAILURES IMMINENT.

"Where are the attacks coming from?" Slippy asked, feeling very uneasy.

"I couldn't figure it out. And apparently neither did Fox," Peppy responded unhappily.

The camera view, now shaking very unsteadily, shifted frequently from one area of the cockpit to another as Fox apparently tried to bring things under control. The crew could hear his heavy, erratic breathing.

"He's… He's scared." Krystal whispered. Out of all the members of Star Fox on the bridge, she was the one that was the most worried.

Abruptly the view shifted again and was focused on Fox's steering controls. Fox jerked at them continually, but apparently they wouldn't budge. The HUD flashed another warning, and a list of several malfunctions was listed continuously.

CODE ORANGE. CODE ORANGE. MULTIPLE ARWING SYSTEM FAILRUE.

WEAPON SYSTEM MALFUCTION.

RADAR/COMMUNICATION SYSTEM MALFUNCTION.

BOOST MALFUNCTION.

SHIELDING COMPLEX MALFUNCTION.

ENERGY CONVERTER MALFUNCTION.

ENERGY TRANSFERER MALFUNCTION.

G-DIFFUSER SYSTEM MALFUNCTION.

GRAVITY BLADE MALFUNCTION.

ENGINE SYSTEM MALFUNCTION.

**WARNING:** NAVIGATION CONTROL SYSTEM FAILURE.

_multi_.ae3_find_/32ah4x0rz4/BREAKDOWN.

SECURITY LOCKDOWN INITIATED.

Fox:"Shit! The navigation system is locked up, I've lost control!" The camera view changed and Fox was now looking at the comm screen. Peppy could be seen, but only in between bursts of random static. The alarm was piercing.

Fox: "I'm going down! I repeat, I'm goi-"

Suddenly the camera lurched forward and was slammed against the console, and the viewport was suddenly filled with static.

CONNECTION LOST. END VIDEO FEED. Then the viewport shut off. Everyone continued to stare into the blank screen, startled at the horror that they had just witnessed. An eerie silence filled the room. Although everyone was affected, Krystal was probably the one who took the hardest hit. She just couldn't grasp the fact that Fox was probably dead.

_No, Fox… How could this happen?_

"Do ya think the Ravens have anything to do with this?" Falco asked, finally breaking the silence.

"Maybe. I can check," Krystal informed, trying to cover the effects that the video footage had on her. She closed her eyes, reaching out for the minds of the villainous members aboard the Raven ship Fox had just infiltrated. After a moment she returned to reality.

"No, they're still going around in confusion. They have no idea that Fox was the one that took the memory disk."

"Well we can't just sit here and do nothing! Isn't there something we can do?" Slippy asked frantically. Falco, despite his own worries for Fox, rolled his eyes at how frenetic Slippy appeared.

"Slippy, do you _always _have to act like this when something big comes up? Come on, relax frog boy." He shrugged nonchalantly is if this whole ordeal was nothing. "Besides," he continued, "I'm sure Fox can take care of himself. He's been through worse." Krystal, offended with Falco's comment, glared at him. And the avian noticed. "What?"

"How can you say such a thing, Falco?" the vixen asked, irritated. "Did you see what just happened, how much damage that he took? It takes a lot of firepower to do that much to an Arwing. This is serious. For all we know, he could be dying right now and we won't know about it until it's too late! If anything, Slippy has a right to be worried!"

"Whoa whoa whoa, Krys, hold on, I'm just as worried as any of you are, but it's Fox we're talking about here. He's more than capable of handling these kinds of situations." he retorted.

"I'm glad that you're so confident of his abilities, but were you even _watching? _It only took three shots to take down his Arwing. How could he handle _that_ situation!?"

"Well that was his own fault. He should've gotten outta there while he had the chance!"

"How could you say that? The ship was on lockdown, did you see all those malfunctions? He couldn't go anywhere!"

"Again, his own fault!"

"There was nothing he could_ do!_ How many times do I have to say it? What is wrong with you?"

"What's it to you?"

"You certainly have issues, Lombardi!"

"Well look who's talking. Why are acting so defensive!?"

"Why do you act like such an ignorant, idiotic asshole you pessimistic bird!?" Krystal bellowed. She had finally had it with Falco's infuriatingly stupid reasoning. Falco's eyebrows lifted as he was surprisingly shocked by where the argument ended up. Peppy and Slippy were astonished as well, their eyes wide open. They have never seen this side of Krystal before, ever. She had always been so tolerant of people because she was generally a really kind person. What caused this sudden eruption of anger? Why _had_ she been so defensive? Krystal continued her rant on Falco, to his dismay.

"You're so full of yourself, you know that? You can't for just one second think about someone else for a change!" The avian finally just shut up, not wanting to hear anymore of it, his eyebrows still crumpled down in frustration. Krystal's breathing was intense, like she had just run a mile. The three team members continued to stare at her. Their expressions were confused, as if they were staring into the eyes of a complete stranger. Krystal had realized this as her eyes widened.

_What… did I just do?_

An expression of sorrow and embarrassment had suddenly appeared on her face. She had recognized how unacceptable her behavior was. The vixen closed her eyes to try and regain her composure. She let out a deep breath.

_Calm down, just calm down… There is absolutely _no_ reason you should be acting so childish like this. Handle this maturely. You're better than this._

Krystal indeed calmed down, breathing deeply once more. She had come up with an idea during her little anger outbreak against Falco. But first things first, she wanted to apologize to the team. She couldn't remember the last time she went over-the-top like this. The vixen formed a sincere smile. "I am so, _extremely_ sorry about this. That was unbelievably rude of me. I don't know what got over me." Peppy smirked for a moment, which was unseen by Krystal. And it wasn't _just_ because of Krystal and her kind-mannered apologies.

_Hmm, so I _am_ right, _the hare thought. Peppy was the one to acknowledge her act of contrition, as well as something else.

"That's alright, Krystal. Falco still needs to learn how to keep his mouth shut, anyways." The avian shot an annoyed look at Peppy, who pretended not to notice. "He has always been the loud one of the team," Peppy answered lightly. Falco crossed his arms and mumbled something unintelligible. Peppy again pretended not to notice.

Thanks, Peppy. I really appreciate it." She smiled earnestly once more. "Anyways," Krystal continued, "I have come up with an idea to find out if Fox is still alive." The team leaned forward, closely paying attention as if the argument between Falco and her hadn't happened at all. "It's simple. I will see if I can detect any sort of Fox's thought patterns down on Fortuna."

"Okay, that sounds like a good idea, if not the only one so far. Go for it, Krystal," Peppy encouraged with hope.

Krystal smiled at the hare before she put her left hand up to her forehead, touching her temple with her index and middle fingers. She closed her sapphire eyes, retreating into a state increased concentration. It was silent for the next moment because nobody wanted to interrupt Krystal as she tried to track down the downed their vulpine captain. After a minute the telepath sighed, sounding defeated. She opened her eyes, a hint of disappointment apparent in them.

"Nothing, not even a slight detection his brainwaves," she announced remorsefully, frowning.

"That doesn't mean that he's dead. Maybe… maybe he's out of your range?" Slippy buoyantly suggested.

"It's possible. I-"

Suddenly, ROB whirred as a cache of information circulated within his computer brain.

"Unknown ship has been detected by long-range sensors. Scanning…" A few seconds went by. Everyone's eyes were fixed on ROB, curious by this new piece of information. "Scan complete. Fighter detected as a USF-Wolfen. Unusually high amount of weaponry power confirmed. Ship has been highly modified. Cloak ability detected."

"A Wolfen? What in the world..." Peppy muttered, utterly confused. The ship suddenly reminded him of the notorious ruffian gang, Star Wolf. Then Peppy thought back to how ROB had described that the ship had cloak and high weapon power. He looked slightly bewildered. "Could it possibly be Star Wolf that's behind this?"

"I don't think so," Falco replied, still trying to shake Krystal's sudden outburst out of his system. "This 'aint the way Wolf and his gang would come about. Cloaking ability? It just isn't their style."

"In any case, Star Wolf or not, we need to go after him," said Peppy.

"Or her," Krystal added quietly. "But… what about Fox? What if he's alive? And most likely badly injured? We need to go and search for him."

"You're right… There's still hope…" Peppy sat there, trying to quickly formulate a plan.

"Ok, Falco and Slippy. Go and chase down that Wolfen. Try to only immobilize it. Someone has a lot of explaining to do," the hare mentioned gruffly. He then turned to Krystal, not forgetting about what he had planned for her. "Krystal, I want you to go down to the surface of _Fortuna_ to try and find Fox, if he's still alive." He then gestured for her to come to the nav system he was sitting next to, which she did. He tapped the touch keyboard a few times, and then a regional map of _Fortuna _appeared. He pointed to a certain position on the chart. Krystal moved in closer to read the numbers.

"His last known location was right here, 20.45 degrees N, 68.36 degrees W. Go to these coordinates and start your search there. Remember, it's most likely that Fox veered off course after we lost touch with him. He could be fifty miles off this original point for all we know." Krystal nodded, making a mental note of the coordinate numbers. "Now," Peppy said, facing the rest of the team, "It could be possible that the memory disk has something to do with our unknown assassin."

"Definitely. Whoever attacked Fox probably knew that he had the disk," said Slippy.

"There's only one way to find out," added Falco, "Come on Slip, no time to waste. Let's get this show on the road!" The toad nodded, and the two team members entered the tube lift. After they had left for the docking bay, Peppy turned to face Krystal once more. Sorrow and concern gleamed in his aged eyes.

"Krystal, I really do hope that he is indeed still alive. If… If not…"

"Peppy, please think positively. Fox _will _be waiting for me, alive," she said with a flare of determination.

"I hope so…" Then Peppy said something that took Krystal by surprise. "For your sake, Krystal." The hare half-smiled at the vixen, who was obviously confused by his statement. "I know how you feel about him Krystal. I see how you look at him, and how you act around him," he said lightheartedly.

Oh.

So that was what he was talking about. The vixen blushed, her cheeks turning a purplish color. Peppy let out a few chuckles despite how crappy he was feeling at the moment.

"I figured it out when you were arguing with Falco. Just call it an old man's hunch, but obviously you were trying to defend Fox because you didn't want to believe he was… well you know, and you couldn't stand how Falco could seem to just give up so easily."

"Well, um, I guess you could say…" Krystal couldn't finish her sentence as blood rushed back into her cheeks. Peppy was pretty much spot on. Peppy laughed once more, then his expression turned serious again.

"Go on. I will see you when you get back. I only wish the best of luck," he wished. She simply nodded, still shocked that Peppy had discovered her secret. Krystal turned to enter the tube lift that would soon lead her down to the docking bay. As the lift doors closed she reflected upon what Peppy had said to her.

"_I know how you feel about him Krystal. I see how you look at him, and how you act around him,_"

Was it really that obvious? Then again, Peppy was observant like that. The vixen sighed, thinking about Fox and about what he had said to her before he left for the mission.

"_Krystal, don't worry. I'll be back soon, it'll be a piece o' cake. You know I've been doing this kind of thing for years." _

"Why did this have to happen?" the vixen whispered to herself. "He doesn't deserve this…" She closed her eyes, creating a mental picture of Fox in her head. His dazzling smile, his gorgeous eyes… Then suddenly he was trapped in a blazing Arwing… Screaming, terrified… A look of fear replacing the coolness in those eyes as he fell to his imminent death…

_NO! _

_How could I think like that? What's wrong with me? _She mentally bashed herself for thinking such atrocities. _Fox… _A dark spot had suddenly formed at the floor she was staring at, and she soon realized that she was crying and that a tear had crashed against the metallic flooring beneath her. Krystal wiped the tears off on her sleeve, sniffing a bit as she did so.

_He's okay… He survived the crash… Now all he's doing is waiting for someone to get him… _But no matter how many times the vixen tried to reassure herself that Fox was safe, the image of Fox's terrified expression would always come back. It would not leave her mind.

The lift suddenly came to a halt, and the doors hissed open. Snapping back to reality Krystal stepped forward, still feeling a little miserable. She started to walk to her Arwing, absently ignoring the faint voices that she heard could hear from what seemed like the distance.

"Krystal!" a familiar voice broke through her trance, which caused her to jump a bit, startled.

"Krystal, are you alright? You look like you just witnessed a murder or something," said Falco, studying her grave expression carefully.

_Yeah. Almost…_

"I'm sorry… I'm just worried about Fox," she replied.

"Hey, it's gonna be fine," Falco reassured. "And Krystal, I'm, well, sorry for upsetting you up on the bridge. I acted like a jerk, and I, well uh, shouldn't have done that," the bird admitted; slightly reluctant, but nevertheless still apologetic.

_Wow, Falco actually apologizing? _The vixen smiled inside. She knew that it was a genuine apology; her abilities confirmed it. Krystal knew that deep down Falco was a really good-hearted person, just a little rough on the outside.

"Apology accepted," she answered happily. I'm sorry I called you an asshole," she answered, laughing a bit. Falco shrugged.

"Hey, don't worry 'bout it. I get that sometimes," he replied, laughing a little bit himself.

"Hey Falco, you ready?" Slippy suddenly called while climbing into his Arwing.

"Yep, be right there," he shouted back at the toad. Then he turned to face Krystal and smirked. "You take care of yourself," Falco said before rushing off to his Arwing. Before she knew it Krystal saw Falco give her a thumbs up before they blasted away through the transparent environmental barrier into space. A strange feeling of confidence overtook her being as she watched the two team members roll to the left, out of sight. As she finally climbed into her Arwing and started up the engine, she saw Fox once more in her mind. Her determination set, she blasted out of the hangar bay and sped away from the _Great Fox _towards _Fortuna._

------------------------------------------

Fox's eyes slowly slid open as he gradually became conscious again. He immediately realized that his ship was actually still airborne, but violently burning through the storm clouds of _Fortuna _angled diagonally in a fiery blaze, like a meteor. At least he wasn't in a vertical spiral. But that was the least on his mind at the moment. His ship was being tossed around aggressively as the storm continually pushed it around.

"Shit! Gotta do something!" Then he winced as a sudden pain struck his cranium. "My head hurts…"

He had a massive headache, and he put his hand up to his head only to feel a sticky red substance matted on his fur. He also realized that his headset had been smashed, ruling out using it as a secondary communicator. The alarm was still blaring loudly; sparks were still flying all around and wires hung from above. The ship was shaking violently as it continued its descent. The Arwing HUD still read that all systems were down; he was lucky the ship hadn't exploded... Yet. He grasped the steering controls firmly, trying to move the Arwing around, but they were still locked in place. Fragments of the Arwing strewn from behind as the ship slowly fell apart.

"COME ON!" he yelled desperately. He tried everything; he flipped a few switches up and down, tapped a few keys on the console (which was partially covered by his blood), hit a few buttons, but nothing was working. He tried to use the comm, but it was completely busted. He looked at the Arwing damage indicator. Everything was flashing red.

_Not. Good._

He glanced at the digital altimeter display .

_10,000 meters._

He shifted in his seat uncomfortably and opened a panel to his left. He then suddenly remembered that the converters were fried. Frustrated, he replaced the panel in defeat. He tried flipping a few more switches. Still nothing.

_8,000 meters._

He looked forward and saw the ground approaching closer and closer. He could see the green, densely compact forest beneath him getting drenched by the heavy rain. Lightning struck in both near and faraway areas as the storm got increasingly worse.

_5,000 meters._

The HUD system flashed a message.

WARNING: APPROACHING THE SURFACE AT A DANGEROUS VELOCITY. DECREASE SPEED IMMEDIATELY.

"Dammit, you think I would've done that by now!" He yelled at the computer, he tried to budge the steering controls one more time. Nothing.

_4,000 meters._

And then he realized that there was nothing he could do.

_3,000 meters._

He tuned out everything; the blaring alarm, the violent shaking of his craft, the surface below him, the sparks, his bleeding head… There was only one person that he thought of while he quickly drew nearer to his death. One person that he cared for so dearly, ever since the day he had met her.

_2,000 meters._

_Krystal, I love you. I just wish I could've told you._

_1,000 meters. _

And then the Arwing HUD flashed another warning message. Fox didn't bother to read it. He already knew what it said.

_500 meters._

CRITICAL: GROUND IMPACT IMMINENT. BRACE FOR IMPACT.

_250 meters._

Fox braced himself as best he could.

_100 meters._

He closed his eyes. He saw Krystal in his mind, and smiled one last time.

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There you have it, the first chapter! Hope you guys enjoyed it. I'll try to update often, but I'll also be working on my other fic, so don't expect a day-to-day update. Not that I know anyone here that does that anyways. Reviews appreciated! Adios.

LilGstryker


	3. Chapter 2

**Huh. Been awhile, hasn't it? Sorry to keep you waiting, honestly. Finally found the patience to work on this fic. As my writer's block for my other story keeps me from writing any further, I turn to this story. In truth I find this one a little easier to write for some reason, but whatever. **

**Star Fox**

**Plague of Shadows**

**Chapter 2**

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"Slippy, any contact yet?"

"Not yet. Keep yourself low though, we're getting close."

"Roger."

Two Arwings sped through the depths of space as they continued their pursuit on the _Wolfen _that apparently had shot down Fox. Both Falco and Slippy remained silent, for nothing else could be said about this unknown assassin except for that he or she was in for quite a surprise. Slippy was especially looking forward to capturing and interrogating this mysterious assailant. He was affected by this terribly traumatizing event so much that he felt like crying for his possibly lost friend and teammate. But now was not the time, as emotion on the battlefield could lead to wrong, life threatening decisions. The toad still couldn't believe that Fox was shot down and could now be dead on the green, densely vegetated planet of _Fortuna_.

Falco was still thinking about what Krystal had said to him; she was right. How could he be so indifferent about the entire situation? Fox was the one that convinced him to leave his gang on Macbeth and become his wing mate in Star Fox. If it weren't for him Falco would probably still be just one of those criminal gangsters who murdered and performed illegal activities for his own personal gain, uncaring for anyone else except himself and his other gang members. He shook off the thought, not wanting to think about his terrible pastime anymore. Now he was part of a team that fights exactly what he used to be, and was glad that Fox was so convincing. He owed his friend, big time. The blue avian glanced at his radar to check for anything suspicious, and a faint orange dot signified a distant enemy who had not yet detected their presence.

"Alright, I can see our target on the long-range. Let's activate these new temporary radar jammers. See if we can surprise this bastard," Falco declared assertively. Both pilots typed in commands on their control interfaces and a small confirmation noise assured them that they would remain undetected to any nearby vessel. However, this didn't make the ships physically invisible, only invisible to radar detection signals.

"Ah, they work perfectly, not a hitch in the programming," Slippy whispered to himself triumphantly. He was the one who retrieved the plans, built them, and installed them into the Arwings. These jammers were sometimes considered better than cloaking devices; it had a much lower power consumption level, which meant that most systems could operate at normal without sacrifice, including weapons and shielding. Warp speeds could also still be achieved, unlike ships installed with cloaking devices who could not without first deactivating it. However, the jammers would only last so long before they had to be replaced, a flaw that still needed to be fixed.

As they approached the target, the toad smiled widely. A large field of asteroids had appeared, and it just so happened that their target was flying right through it. Seemed like the day wouldn't end up so bad after all, considering what had occurred that day. At least, that's what the two pilots hoped.

"Guess it's our lucky day," announced Slippy excitedly.

"No kidding, we can use these asteroids and scare that fucker," added Falco. As they approached this field of rocks, Slippy's round, amphibian eyes detected a small speck out in the distance that resembled the shape of a fighter.

"Hey, I think I see the target," said Slippy, still squinting. Falco glanced down at this radar; Slippy was right, as the target was no less than a hundred kilos away.

"Roger that." The avian paused for a second. "Slippy, I have a plan. You take the right flank, I'll take left. We'll use the asteroids as cover, and remember to switch weaponry to EMP disrupters."

"Gotcha, heading right," the toad confirmed. The pair then split off away from each other and slowly maneuvered around the humongous field of rocks. After a few more minutes of silent maneuvering, the two finally managed to come in plain view of the _Wolfen. _It too was carefully maneuvering around the asteroids as it continued its path.

"Target sighted," stated Falco.

"I see it too," Slippy confirmed. "Alright Falco, lets level up with that _Wolfen_ and then fire the EMPs."

"Got it." He complied as he guided his ship and charged the EMP disrupters. After a few seconds the weapons HUD chimed as it confirmed a lock on the enemy target. A couple large asteroids slowly drifted into view, but were barely noticed by Falco as he was too concentrated on his target. He thought that they were farther apart than they actually were and didn't take them as priority; this would end up being a costly mistake.

"Alright, I've got a loc… Holy shit!" Falco yelled in shock as the two large asteroids suddenly collided directly in front of him. The avian was forced to switch to normal weaponry and shoot his way through with his lasers, which certainly caught the attention of the _Wolfen's_ pilot.

"Falco! The target's been alerted of our presence!" Slippy announced anxiously as he noticed the _Wolfen_ suddenly increase its speed.

"Shit, how did that… Dammit, how stupid of me!" the avian cursed. Falco couldn't believe that he had let this happen. Now it was only going to go downhill from here. Such a small blunder ended up compromising their covert operation, and now they had to come up with some sort of plan B because the target would certainly not just hand herself over. If only it were that easy, but unfortunately nothing like this is ever that simple. After releasing a few more swear words from his mouth Falco hailed the _Wolfen,_ and after a few seconds a white-furred feline with shoulder-length black hair appeared on-screen. Her hair covered her left eye, and she swooped her head to move it away. She looked somewhat relaxed, for the most part. Her green eyes stared back at Falco calmly but intently. The avian was the first to speak; he was, evidently, not very relaxed.

"This is Falco of Star Fox, stop your ship right now before my teammate and I have to do it ourselves!!" He practically barked through the comm channel. The feline looked as if she was surprised to see a figure as famous as Falco appear on her comm screen, but wasn't surprised by his attitude whatsoever.

"Well, well, look who we have here! The infamous avian pilot, Falco Lombardi! I thought those ships seemed familiar. How may I help you?" she asked innocently, as if she already didn't know the answer. But Falco inwardly cursed at the feline; he wasn't going to play this game with her.

"You know damn well why we're here! Who the hell are you, and why'd you shoot down Fox!?" he questioned irately. Tanya just smirked. On the outside she was relatively calm and controlled, but on the inside she silently cursed herself for being so careless. She had let her pride take over too early, and now she would have to suffer consequences. It was one thing that she needed to work on; keeping herself focused and controlled until she was done with her job.

_Huh, I can't believe they were able to find me… This could be a little trouble. I thought I was already outside their long-range sensors. Should've kept the cloak on._

Not quite knowing what to say to the aggravated avian, Tanya quickly formulated a plan in her head. "Hm… Tell you what," the feline answered. Falco cocked his eyebrow, waiting for her response. "Let's play a game of tag. Catch me, and then we'll see what happens! Heh, see ya!" she said cheerfully before her face disappeared off the screen. Suddenly her ship spiraled around an asteroid and sped in the opposite direction of Falco and Slippy.

"What the… game of tag, really?" Falco exasperatingly said while rolling his eyes. "You've got to be kidding me!"

"Falco, hurry, before she get's away!" Slippy advised loudly as he performed a tight U-turn and pursued the Wolfen_._

"Damn cats… Why do they got to be so stubborn?" Falco muttered to himself before also performing a U-turn. The two pilots quickly caught up to Tanya and began to fire their lasers at her. Tanya, however, was not intimidated much by the fact that she was being chased by two Star Fox members; she expertly dodged many lasers and deflected a few with barrel rolls, and only a few bolts came in contact with her. Tanya then pulled left and boosted between two asteroids right before they collided, and Falco and Slippy were forced to go around. This time, Tanya was the one firing her weapons. As her ship was flying perpendicular to Falco and Slippy, she fired crimson-colored lasers at them via a turret installed to the port side of her ship. Both Falco and Slippy barely managed to roll out of the way, not expecting such a tactic to be used. Falco was hit slightly; his shield flickered as the lasers came in contact with them. Falco watched as his shielding drop to 93 percent.

"Augh, dammit!" he yelled, and fired a charge shot at her. Before the glowing ball hit her however, she boosted behind an asteroid and used it as a shield from the shot.

"She's customized her ship well! It's faster and stronger than the original Wolfen," Slippy complimented. Falco was bemused by the frog's flattering statement.

"Slippy, whose side are you on? Concentrate! Take the left flank, I'll take right, go!" said Falco. The toad nodded and quickly sped ahead, Falco doing the same. Soon they simultaneously open fired at Tanya, who was battered up quite a bit before escaping the attack. Because Tanya upgraded her ship's attack power her shielding and speed are a bit lacking. But her exceptional piloting skills compensated for these deficiencies. She quickly swerved to the right towards Slippy's position and fired two charged plasma shots consecutively. Slippy tilted to the left to try and dodge the attack, but the lasers still came in contact with the underbelly of the ship. Slippy's eyes widened as he watched his shield drop from 100 to 78 percent.

"Careful Falco, her weapons are powerful!" cautioned Slippy as they continued their pursuit of Tanya. Falco suddenly veered right and disappeared momentarily into the asteroids.

"Falco, what are you doing?" asked Slippy. Falco explained.

"Distract her, and I'll try and fire a smart bomb at her. That should be enough to shake her up a bit!" Slippy complied by firing his lasers slightly to the right of Tanya, causing her to swerve to the left and away from Falco. He continually shot his lasers at her to ensure that she wouldn't have enough time to figure out their plan. A few of those shots connected, causing her ship's red-colored shielding to flicker and appear momentarily before fading away again. Tanya then performed a tactic Slippy would've never expected; she cut off her engines, but momentum kept her moving forward. She then used wing-installed boosters to make her ship turn a complete 180 degrees, causing her to now face a surprised Slippy. She open fired and her lasers battered the Arwing, causing a substantial amount of damage to it. Slippy's shielding dropped from 78 percent to a disastrous 56 percent. Coming to his senses Slippy fired back while rolling at the same time to try and lessen the damage from the lasers.

"Falco, where the heck are you!? I'm getting hammered here!" Slippy frantically exclaimed while his Arwing continued to tremble violently from incoming laser fire.

"Heheh, right here!" Suddenly an Arwing appeared behind Tanya and fired a smart bomb at her. By the time the feline realized what was going on it was too late. The red bomb hit her backside, causing the huge trademark spherical explosion often associated with the smart bomb. The explosion pushed her craft into an asteroid, causing further damage to her ship. Her shields flickered in protest as her Wolfen collided with the colossal rock.

"Yeah, that was a double whammy! Awesome work, Falco!" Slippy congratulated gleefully. Tanya, however, was not as enthused. Her ship was smoking as a result of the damage taken. Tanya studied the damage report of her ship. Shields were at minimum efficiency, maxing out at 30 percent, and weaponry power decreased to 53 percent. To her surprise, the feline discovered that although her starboard engine was almost toast, she still had warp capabilities.

_Can't risk it anymore… I'm good, but not so good as to fight against two Star Fox pilots and expect to come out victorious._ _Maybe against one, but two? Hm... _Tanya clearly knew that her (along with her ship's) limits have been reached, and tactically decided that it was now time to stop fighting before further damage compromised her beautiful _Crimson Rose_. Besides, she needed to get to _Corneria _for an appointment with her contractor.

The feline contacted Star Fox, and much to their surprise Tanya was smiling despite the circumstances. "You guys are pretty good. But, I expected as much from the legendary Star Fox team. I'm glad to say that our fight was not as disappointing as I thought it would be. Anyways, it was nice meeting you guys, but unfortunately I can't take part in anymore as I have a meeting to attend to." She paused and teasingly winked at both Falco and Slippy. "Later!"

"What? Where do you think-" But Falco couldn't finish his sentence. Tanya activated her warp drive, and she instantly disappeared with a small flash while Falco was talking. The flashing words CONNECTION LOST suddenly replaced the image of Tanya's jovial face and blinked dully and repeatedly on both Falco and Slippy's communications VDT.

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Krystal's Arwing was surrounded by flames as she entered into Fortuna's atmosphere. The weather was still extremely rough, and her Arwing shook rigorously as she continued her descent. Any rain that hit the exterior of her ship instantly evaporated, which could be seen as the Arwing left a small trail of steam behind it. After a few more minutes of flying, she decreased her velocity as she reached the forest-covered surface of Fortuna. She flew low while trying to locate the downed pilot, giving her a good top-down view of the surface. The vixen searched for any sign of wreckage along the way and glanced at her radar every few seconds to see if the sensors picked anything up. After another few minutes, however, she found nothing.

_I will find you, Fox… _Using her powers, Krystal scanned the area for Fox's specific brainwaves. After a few seconds though, all she could detect were the brainwaves of the wild life forms that inhabited on the planet. She sighed quietly. _There has to be something, anything! Just give me a sign! _

As if on cue, Krystal felt a sudden yet strange sensation in her mind. On instinct, she looked around her immediate area very carefully. Suddenly out of the corner of her eye, she saw some trees that seemed unnaturally ripped apart. Curious, the vixen turned her ship around and studied the area. Upon further investigation her eyes widened as she discovered a discrete trail of destroyed trees and other foliage. She followed the rugged path and saw pieces of what seemed to be parts from an Arwing. And what she saw at the end was, no doubt to her, completely devastating.

There lay Fox's Arwing; or what was left of it at least. The site made her want to look away, as she was immediately filled with grief. There was no smoke arising from the wreck because of the rain and wind, which caused any fire to go out. The fighter was more than just totaled; it was completely and utterly destroyed. The wings were missing (having disintegrated while the Arwing was still in the sky). Half of the starboard G-diffuser was ripped off and the port G-diffuser looked absolutely burnt up and crushed. Sparks and crackles of electricity shot from the damaged engines and dismantled G-diffusers. The fuselage was damaged heavily; both sides of the ship's hull were practically shredded off, exposing the inner components and framework. Sporadically shaped cracks, misshapen holes, large dents, and black scorch marks covered the entire body, and ship debris littered the area around the ruined Arwing. The cockpit canopy however was still intact, but it was badly cracked and broken. Krystal activated her ship's stand-by command along with the repulsion boosters, and positioned the ship just about foot off the ground in the flattened trail that Fox's "Arwing" had created. Tears streaked down her cheeks as she jumped down onto the vegetated ground and ran to the downed craft. She climbed up the fuselage (being careful not to touch the sparking remnants of the G-diffuser shoulders). The vixen pulled out her staff, extended it, and shattered the glass canopy with it with one quick swing.

The cockpit was no doubt an absolute mess. Every part of the Arwing control interface was completely shot. But the wreckage was nothing in comparison to the pilot that lay within. Fox lay there in the pilot's seat with his head hanging to one side, the harness still holding him down. The site of his body made Krystal sob in sorrow and disbelief as she came to realize the extent of his horrid injuries. His head was bleeding, and cuts and blood covered his face along with his entire body. Blood slowly drizzled down his muzzle and dripped onto his lap like a leaky faucet. His clothing was torn and ragged, and on his left arm was a large gash that seemed to be bleeding profusely. His shirt and fur were also soaked with blood, most likely from abdominal or chest injuries. Krystal immediately scanned his brain; the waves were weak, which explained why she couldn't pick them up from far away.

But it also meant that he was still alive.

To make sure that he was indeed still alive, she placed her fingers on his neck to check for a pulse. At first she felt nothing, and this scared her a little bit. Could her powers have failed her? But as she pressed down harder on Fox's neck, she felt a very small beats. His pulse was weak, but still there. He had a chance. Using that one small yet vital fact as her source of motivation, she quickly unhooked him and struggled to pull the vulpine's battered body out of the cockpit. She knew that Fox wouldn't be awakening from his unconscious state anytime soon, so Krystal didn't even bother trying to wake him up. As she lifted him out of the seat, she found a black backpack that Fox was sitting on. Curiously she opened the battered backpack to find the case that contained the memory disc. However the case was smashed and dented, and when she opened it she found the memory disc, destroyed and virtually unusable. She threw it back in the cockpit with frustration. If the disc would've still been intact, the mission would've technically still been a success, despite Fox's near death.

Krystal placed Fox on the soft, vegetated ground and sprinted to her Arwing to retrieve the first-aid kit in the storage compartment. Soon she returned and wrapped Fox's gash on his left arm with gauge to try and stop the bleeding. She ripped open his shirt, and found that he also had a large cut running diagonal along the surface of his chest, along with a few other minor cuts. Using some more gauge she wrapped the upper part of Fox's body so that bleeding would hopefully end. She also wrapped the gauge around his head. Krystal shortly found herself carrying Fox quickly to her Arwing bridal style. His heaviness didn't bother her much as she managed to get the both of them situated into the cockpit. Since Arwings were single-pilot fighters, the vixen found herself placing the unconscious Fox on her lap. Her clothing and fur became stained and soaked with his blood, but she cared very little. After the cockpit canopy lowered down at an excruciatingly slow pace and locked shut, she immediately activated her engine and bolted away from the surface, which created a heavy wind and made the trees vigorously sway in all directions. Tears still ran down her cheek as she held her love in her lap. Although she was happy that she had found him and that he was in one piece, she was just broken by the fact that Fox was in such a vile condition. Never has this happened to any of the pilots in Star Fox's history, not even when Slippy crashed on _Titania_ and was thrown around by that bio-weapon. Or when Peppy bravely crashed the _Great Fox_ into the Aparoid home world shielding network. They both came out with just cuts, bruises, and sprains.

Krystal suddenly felt her ship shake violently, and the alarm went off. The caution lights activated, which illuminated the cockpit with a dim, red glow. She hastily turned her eyes to the damage HUD to see what had happened.

WARNING: ENTERING LIGHTNING STORM. PROCEED WITH CAUTION.

Krystal complied, and concentrated on making it to the _Great Fox_ before the storm made her objective impossible.

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"Augh dammit, that coward!" Falco frustratingly slammed his fist on the control interface, which beeped in protest to the harshness of the impact.

"ROB! Trace that warp signature, where is she headed?" Slippy asked quickly. The robot quickly calculated Slippy's request and proceeded to reveal the information.

"The target's distorted warp path indicates that she is possibly heading towards Corneria," he answered.

"Should we go after her?" questioned Falco.

"Our Arwings aren't installed with hyperdrives like her ship is, so we have to fall back to the Great Fox first if we even want to have a chance at catching up to her. Plus Krystal is still looking for Fox, and we can't leave her behind," answered Slippy. As if on cue, the comm system went off, and the two pilots answered to see a distressed Krystal staring back at them.

"Krystal, did you- what the hell? Don't tell me that's…" Falco instantly recognized the face of Fox, and was disturbed by the nasty injuries inflicted upon his body. He couldn't finish his sentence, as he was too shocked to see Fox's beaten face. Slippy's eyes widened as he came to realize who Krystal was carrying onboard.

"Fox, oh my gosh! Krystal, is he going to be ok?" Slippy asked pensively, studying Fox's body. Sorrow overwhelmed his being as he realized how bad of a condition his best friend was. He hoped that words "yes" would come out of Krystal's mouth, but unfortunately for him, for all of them, she spoke otherwise.

"Slippy, I honestly don't know… He's bleeding profusely, and I suspect some broken bones as well. I'm near the _Great Fox _about to land in the docking bay_, _I was just calling in to inform you that I had found him. I've wrapped all of Fox's major injuries with gauge and they should've stopped bleeding by now, but we still need to take him to sick bay as quick as possible."

"Oh, thank goodness… I thought that we had lost him down there, Krystal…" Slippy sighed heavily, as if he had just released a heavy object that he had been carrying. But Fox's condition became a new burden that Slippy had to carry on his back; it seemed heavier than the last load that he had before.

The three were silent for a moment, contemplating and thinking about this entire situation. Krystal then remembered that she wanted to know what became of the assassin that nearly killed Fox. Anger swelled up within her as she thought about the assassin, but she physically didn't show it.

"How about you guys, how was the covert mission?" She asked, trying to take her mind of off Fox for the moment. Anymore and she would start to cry again. The toad just looked down in shame. Falco glanced at Krystal, and then turned his head away in embarrassment.

"Let's just say that it wasn't very 'covert'…" Slippy replied quietly. Falco's eyebrows crumpled in frustration as memories of the failed mission flooded back into his mind.

"She managed to get away. We were so damn close too! It was all my fault…" He admitted openly.

_A female assassinator? How interesting… I want to see what she looks like._

"Falco, don't worry about it. It was an accident," Slippy tried to console.

"Yeah, whatever…"

"How did she get away?" Krystal asked, slightly upset that the assassin was able to escape.

"She warped her sorry ass outta here towards Corneria, so that's gonna be our next destination once we get back to the _Great Fox."_ Falco replied with a hint of annoyance.

"Falco, I'm gonna read your mind real quick to see what this person looks like," she informed.

"Fine, whatever. Just don't mess with my head or something, I don't wanna end up like that dude you put in rehab because he became delusional and kept seeing things," the avian pleaded.

"Don't worry, I won't harm you." Her eyes flashed blue as she reached out for Falco's mind. There she saw the entire fight that had occurred between Slippy, Falco and the feline. A few seconds later she was done, and retracted from her state of concentration. Falco expected to come out half-retarded when she was done, but was glad to discover that this wasn't the case.

"See, that was fine," Krystal teased. Then her expression became stern. "I swear, when we catch that feline I'm going to make it a living hell for her…" The vixen was most definitely serious. She was not going to sit back idly and let the woman who almost killed her love waltz around as if the whole ordeal was nothing. Oh, it was definitely something. If people were to find out that their hero Fox McCloud was near the point of death because of this assassin, they'd go berserk over her. Falco studied Krystal curiously. Today was just a day where he was seeing the darker side of Krystal's usually kind self. He sorta liked it. Unfortunately for him Krystal heard this thought; he was right about the current mood she was in. And she didn't like it one bit.

Krystal was done talking. "I'll see you at the ship," she informed her teammates plainly. She terminated the comm link, and the display became blank once more. The silence that soon followed the conversation seemed deafening to the vixen, and even though she could see the _Great Fox_ become closer and closer as she approached it, it seemed as if she was only getting farther away. What if she was too late? Although the Arwing was traveling nearly at the peak of its maximum velocity, it seemed too slow, and this was unnerving to her.

Krystal's expression changed when she heard a soft cough emerge from Fox's mouth. She looked down to see that one of Fox's eyes was barely open, looking over at hers. The captain could hardly see Krystal; she was just an indistinct cerulean blur to him. He went in and out of consciousness as pain swept over his body like a tsunami wave. He tried to speak, but his dried larynx wouldn't cooperate. Krystal could tell that the vulpine was trying to rejuvenate his dehydrated throat by swallowing any moisture that was left in his mouth, but his attempts seemed futile.

"Kry… Krystal?" he finally managed to say in a rough whisper.

"Fox, I'm here, please hold on," she begged. Tears started to form in her pristine sapphire eyes once more. Fox's lips curled up as he attempted to form a gentle smile, but the agonizing pain he felt prevented him from creating a full smile. It looked as if he were trying to say something. His lips were moving, but unfortunately the words were inaudible to Krystal. She half-smiled at him, trying to think optimistically about his survival.

"Everything will be alright, we're almost to the _Great Fox, _stay with me," she begged a little louder, almost pleadingly.

"I… I love you" were the words that Fox tried to speak, but they never left his mouth as he was too weak and his throat was too dry. Plagued and tormented by the searing pain that his wounds were inflicting upon him, Fox's vision blurred and his hearing went out as he passed out from sheer exhaustion. Krystal watched as his eye closed and saw his head fall limply to the side. Set with the willpower to keep her loved one alive she pushed the thrusters and sped towards the _Great Fox_ as fast as the Arwing's potent engines could handle.

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Slippy had contacted Peppy to inform him of the good news and bad news, the good news being of course that Krystal had found Fox. Bad news was that the target had escaped, and Fox was heavily injured. The hare was obviously distressed by the bad news, especially by the fact that the target had escaped.

"This is terrible… Well at least Fox is still with us," said Peppy.

"No doubt, Peppy…" Slippy agreed absently. Peppy heard the inattentiveness in Slippy's response.

"Slippy, something wrong?" Peppy asked thoughtfully.

"No, no… I'm just thinking about our next plans of action…" The toad paused for a second, as if he were finishing his contemplations on his plans. He looked up at the hare. "Peppy, I need you to do something for me," Slippy informed.

"What is it?"

"Do you still have the trace on that warp signature?" asked Slippy. Peppy looked down at the computer terminal to check.

"Yes I do," he responded.

"Good. I need you to prepare the hyperdrive and keep the trace on that warp signature. As soon as Falco, Krystal, and I land in the docking bay, initiate max warp and follow the trail. We'll strategize from there." The toad then sighed deeply. "I've got a bad feeling about this entire thing... We need to get to the bottom of this, and soon."

Peppy could only agree.

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End file.
